Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.
In case you missed it, IDW announced that Evan Stanley is taking over “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and a new miniseries, “Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys.”
– Via Syfy Wire, “Heavy Metal” revealed they will be publishing a new Night of the Living Dead comic called “The Rise,” by George C. Romero, son of the late George A. Romero. “The Rise” is only in the early stages of development and so a full creative team has not yet been assembled. Details about the project were kept under wraps, with Romero explicitly describing the comic as “not a prequel,” but a standalone story set at the start of the apocalypse seen in the film. The story will be serialised as chapters in “Heavy Metal” and then be collected in a single edition. A release date for “The Rise” has not been announced.
– Pennsylvania State University announced a new comic book imprint for Pennsylvania University Press called Graphic Mundi. The first comic to be published via the imprint will be a COVID-19-themed anthology, which they have opened submissions for. Publisher Kendra Boileau said, “The anthology will include short comics from writers and artists willing to share what they and others are experiencing at this strange and difficult time – comics that tell stories about the seemingly countless and arbitrary ways in which our lives have been upended by COVID-19.” She continued, “”We’ll aim for a selection that offers balance and diversity in topics, styles, and temperaments. In spite of how horrendous this experience is and will continue to be, we’ll make room for comics that provide hope for humanity.” The comics will be submitted on a voluntary basis, with the profits made by the anthology set to be donated “to organizations that support artists and retailers in need.” Submissions are being accepted until August 1, with an aim to release the anthology in early 2021. The guidelines for submissions can be found here.
– Sam Humphries, Brian Michael Bendis, Kami Garcia, Gwenda Bond and Phil Jimenez organized a series of fundraising efforts for comic book retailers using the hashtag #Creators4Comics. The effort has now garnered the involvement over 120 creators who will be auctioning comic books, artwork and one-of-a-kind experiences in aid of the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. The auctions begin today and will continue through until Monday 20th April at 12pm EST. All of the instructions for taking part in the auctions can be found here.
– The Slate Book Review and Center for Cartoon Studies revealed their shortlist for the upcoming Cartoonist Studio Prizes; one for print comics and a second for web comics, with ten nominees in each category. The nominees were chosen by Slate’s Dan Kois and the faculty and students of the Center for Cartoon Studies. Comics critic and scholar of the University of Winnipeg, Candida Rifkind, will be joining Kois and the Center for Cartoon Studies associates as a special guest judge to decide the winners. The winners will be announced in May, with the full list of nominees available here.
– ComicBook.com reported that the adaptation of Jeff Lemire’s “Sweet Tooth” has moved from Hulu to Netflix, where it has been ordered to a full series. The comic tells the story of Gus, a human/deer hybrid who finds out that the world has been ravaged by an cataclysmic event upon leaving his home. Seeking answers, Gus joins up with a family of humans and hybrids, only to find a conspiracy that leaves him questioning his existence. Jim Mickle (Hap and Leonard) and Beth Schwartz (Arrow) will be joint-showrunners, with Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell and Linda Moran, all serving as executive-producers. The report did not state the number of episodes ordered for the series nor a release schedule.
– The premiere date for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 7 was revealed to be May 27 along with a teaser poster which you can see here. The new season will follow Coulson and the rest of the team as they are stranded in 1931 New York City, with the Chronicoms trying to blend in on Earth using existing human faces. Season 7 of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D will be the series’ last.
Continued below– Sam Raimi (the Spider-Man trilogy) confirmed he will be directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In an interview with ComingSoon.net, Raimi said it was “really funny to me that coincidentally” Doctor Strange is referenced as a suggestion for the name of the villain of Spider-Man 2, because “I had no idea that we would ever be making a Doctor Strange movie.” It was reported back in February that Raimi was in talks to direct the film following Scott Derrickson’s exit due to creative differences. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is scheduled for release on November 5, 2021.
– ReedPop, the organizers of events such as New York Comic Con and Emerald City Comic Con, launched a new cosplayer fan hub called Cosplay Central. The site will be host to interviews, tutorials and advice. Some of the site’s currently arranged interviews include cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty, Adam Savage (Mythbusters), and the cast of Critical Role. Editor-in-chief Kelsey Endter aims for the site to be the “go-to place” for cosplayers to “learn and bond with one another, and stand as a positive and welcoming space for all who are interested in cosplay.” Endter also intends for Cosplay Central to be the “go-to site for content publishers and creators looking to gather ideas and information for their own marketing and publishing research.”
– Reed Exhibitions announced that this year’s iterations of BookExpo, UnBound and BookCon have all been cancelled, with the next iterations due to run next year. In a statement, Event Director Jennifer Martin said that they were “optimistic that our events could run in late July,” but after the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year is “no longer a viable option for this community.” Martin stated that despite the lack of physical events this year, “we are finding new and different ways to connect our exhibitors, attendees and readers to celebrate books virtually.” Tickets are being refunded automatically.
